Spring in Spokane

 I have been dying to use the firepit in our backyard since we moved out to Suncrest last September, but hadn't done it yet because of dry conditions.  The fire department had a no burn policy in effect.  But spring is here and we finally got to use the wonderful pit without fear of burning Suncrest to the ground.  It was a little chilly, but those first Smores of the season were mighty good.

 

Trying to get that marshmallow just right.  And you notice that smoke DOES follow beauty.



Finger licking good!

 Sticky fingers and faces, but who cares, its a campfire thing.

 

 

 

 

Nana came for Easter which was great!  I had to work, but the rest of the family went to church.  Nana stayed for a week, so we were able to buy a Discover Pass and do some exploring outside.



Nana and the girls by Lake Spokane.

Nana and the grills.

 With the Discover Pass, you can access Washington's state parks.  We used it to go to Riverside State Park.  The area we  went to is called  Bowl & Pitcher.  There are large rock formations in the Spokane River and a bridge you can cross over with many trails to explore.  They connect in with a 37 mile trail called Centennial Trail which runs from Nine Mile Falls to the Idaho border.  The water is really moving fast in some spots.  There are a lot of hikers and mountain bikers that utilize the trails.


From the swinging bridge at Bowl & Pitcher



On the other side of the swinging bridge.  Must go up.



Happy to be at the end of the trail.



You can't ride your bike on the bridge & mow down the pedestrians.

The whole family, including Baby, went for a walk on the trail one night.  We started at Nine Mile Falls.   It's a beautiful place to get out in nature, on a mostly paved trail. We have seen many different waterfowl, beaver, flowers, and maybe heard a squatch.  Just kidding.  The girls had themselves convinced after doing their version of a squatch call.  They were a little spooked.



Darren and some of his girls by the Spokane River.

Breaking into a jog.

 

 

Kamryn has taken up playing flute in the Lakeside Middle School band.  She is picking it up very quickly and I am so proud of her!  This is from her first concert.

 

She has also started golf lessons.  She is not very impressed that all of the other students are boys.  I think it's great though!  She pays attention and follows what the coach tells her and I'm sure he appreciates that.  In no time at all she will be hitting the links and schooling her Dad.



This practice was all about chipping.



This driving range is on a hill.  I love it!  I want to drive the little tractor that picks up all the golf balls.  I realize everybody tries to hit you, but I think it would still be fun.



Look at that concentration!



How about the Kamikaze turkey making his way across the driving range.  Wasn't worried in the least.



 

 This spring is also bringing out the blossoms.  I have plants that I don't recognize.  Mary helped me identify a few.


Some sort of a magnolia?

This is the same thing before bloomed out.  The bush looked mostly dead with these beautiful flowers on it

Hyacinth?

Pear tree I believe.

Wild Pansy.

Forsythia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music that Moves Me

Running with music is just so much better.  I have some songs on the Ipod that make me take it up a notch or push through to the end.  The words run the gamut from angry to uplifting.  Crazy.  It doesn't make me feel angry, but just tough.  Like, "I can do this."  I forget that it is painful and I can just feel my body working, and doing what it can do and the miles go by.  So I am going to grace you with the play list.

• Mr. Know it All - Kelly Clarkson
• Start of Something Good - Daughtry
• Into the Night - Santana
• Louder Than Ever - Daughtry
• Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
• Walk on the Water - Britt Nicole
• Shine - Newsboys
• Stand - Rascal Flatts
• Desparate - Fireflight
• Bleed for Me - Saliva
• Crazy - Daughtry
• I Dare You to Move - Switchfoot
• Every Rose Has its Thorn - Miley Cyrus
• We're Not Gonna Fall - Daughtry
• You Are So Good To Me - Third Day
• Whiskey in the Jar - Metallica (I love the pirateness of it)
• Voice of Truth - Casting Crowns
• Break the Spell - Daughtry
• Spaceship - Daughtry
• Crawling Back to You - Daughtry
• Over You - Daughtry
• Replay - Iyaz
• Savin Me - Nickelback
• Shut Up and Drive - Rhianna
• Since You've Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
• Rescue Me - Daughtry
• Photograph - Def Leppard
• Oh Happy Day - Aretha Franklin

I didn't realize I had so much Daughtry on there.  I will have to look for some new tunes to add.  If you have favorites, please comment.  I would love to see what other people are exercising to.



Patriots, Flags, Remembrance

Go Fly a Kite

The Easter bunny brought the girls some kites, so on Easter Sunday we went over to the track at the college and attempted to fly them.  The packages said, easy to fly, but that wasn't necessarily the case.  We were able to get the larger one up in the air for short periods of time.  The other one, just never made it up. The wind was gusting, not steady so that may have made a difference.  It could have also been the operators.  Even though we may be aeronautically challenged, we did have some fun family time!

Sweat is My Fat Crying!

I started wogging (walking & jogging) back in February with a goal of getting in shape, feeling better, losing weight and hopefully, by my 40th birthday next spring, be able to run a half marathon.  I want to be able to go somewhere beautiful to run it.  A trip with a purpose sort of thing.  I started slow, just jogging as far as I could without stopping, then walking for a ways then jogging some more.  It was rather painful in the beginning.  I picked a route and just tried to jog farther each time before walking.  It is a 3.2 mile route and lately I have been able to jog the whole distance.  Today I decided to push it a little farther and passed up the last turn for home and extended my route.  I clocked it when I was done and found out it was 4 miles even!  It seemed like so much farther, but I still consider it a victory.  I know I am slow and am not even worried about that.  I just want to be able to keep running (jogging).  I was thinking about what a privilege it is to be able to be active.  I am so thankful that the Lord chose to give me a body that works!  So many times I have just not "felt" like exercising.  I should just feel blessed to be able to! 

Check out the head band.  It is a Bondi Band.  I ordered them off the website bondiband.com.  They are sweat wicking.  Some inspirational, some fashion, and some just funny.  Got one for my friend Jen C.  that says, "This isn't sweat, it's liquid awesome."  Got another for my friend Linda (She rides bike instead of running.)  that says, "Ride it like you stole it."  

Spring at Spotted Eagle

 
Spring is in the air!  The weather has been lovely and the girls (Kam, Liv, Nana, & Baby dog) and I went out to Spotted Eagle to walk the trails and just breathe in the fresh air.  The geese are back to nest on the small island in the middle of this little pond.  They are fun to watch!  I walked up one of the scoria paths, over a couple of little bridges, and came upon a beautiful butterfly.  So nice to see some color when the world has been winter gray!  Then around the bend, nibbling on something near the bank of a little stream, was a muskrat.  It swam right at me before diving under some reeds that were hanging over the bank.  It wasn't even concerned with the simple dog on my leash.  Baby was likewise oblivious.

Notice in the second picture, the male goose honking orders to the female in the lead.  I'm sure she is flying all wrong!

Love the sparkles from the sun!

According to an American Indian Legend - If anyone desires a wish to come true they must first capture a butterfly and whisper that wish to it. Since a butterfly can make no sound, the butterfly can not reveal the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit who hears and sees all. In gratitude for giving the beautiful butterfly its freedom, the Great Spirit always grants the wish. So, according to legend, by making a wish and giving the butterfly its freedom, the wish will be taken to the heavens and be granted.

Sweet Girls!

Kam found a friend-Ladybug Ladybug.